Mosaic generating platform methods, apparatuses and media

ABSTRACT

A group of images may be obtained. The number of images and dates associated with images in the group may be determined. Possible template configurations for the group of images may be determined based on the number of images and the dates associated with the images. A mosaic may be generated from the group of images in accordance with an optimal template configuration.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of and claims the benefit ofpriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/369,337 ('337application), filed Dec. 5, 2016.

The '337 application in turn claims the benefit of priority to and is acontinuation-in-part and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/689,657 ('657 application), filed Apr. 17, 2015,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,558,577 issued on Jan. 31, 2017. The '657application in turn claims the benefit of priority to InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/US13/65438, filed Oct. 17, 2013, which inturn claims the benefit of priority to United States provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 61/716,185, filed Oct. 19, 2012. The '657application additionally claims the benefit of priority to and is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/625,288,filed Sep. 24, 2012, which in turn is a continuation of and claims thebenefit of priority to International Patent Application No.PCT/US2012/55261, filed Sep. 14, 2012 and claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/671,405, filed Jul.13, 2012.

The '657 application is also a continuation-in-part of and claims thebenefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/198,301,filed Mar. 5, 2014, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/774,551, filed Mar. 7, 2013.

The '657 application is also a continuation-in-part of and claims thebenefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/198,301,filed Mar. 5, 2014, which in turn claims the benefit of priority to andis a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.29/412,733, filed Feb. 7, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No.29/412,735, filed Feb. 7, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No.29/412,736, filed Feb. 7, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No.29/412,738, filed Feb. 7, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. D719,964, issued onDec. 23, 2014, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/412,739, filedFeb. 7, 2012. The present application is also related to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/693,358, filed Aug. 27, 2012.

The '657 application is also a continuation-in-part of and claims thebenefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/433,980,filed Oct. 8, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/433,983, filedOct. 8, 2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/433,999, filed Oct. 8,2012, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/434,010, filed Oct. 9, 2012,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/434,016, filed Oct. 9, 2012, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 29/434,024, filed Oct. 9, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,029, filed Oct. 9, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,041, filed Oct. 9, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,057, filed Oct. 9, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,434, filed Oct. 12, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,599, filed Oct. 15, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,877, filed Oct. 17, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,885, filed Oct. 17, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,887, filed Oct. 17, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,888, filed Oct. 17, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,892, filed Oct. 17, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,894, filed Oct. 17, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 29/434,895, filed Oct. 17, 2012. Every patentapplication referenced in this document is incorporated by reference inits entirety for any purpose whatsoever.

This disclosure describes MOSAIC GENERATING PLATFORM METHODS,APPARATUSES AND MEDIA (hereinafter “MGP”). A portion of the disclosureof this patent document contains material which is subject to copyrightand/or mask work protection. The copyright and/or mask work owners haveno objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent andTrademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserve allcopyright and mask work rights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed generally to digital picturemanagement platforms.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of digital cameras and their inclusion into smartphones, tablets, laptops and other portable electronic devices, it hasbecome easier than ever for people to take photos. Some people choose toprint out their digital photos, while others choose to view theirdigital photos on screens of their portable electronic devices, computermonitors or big screen TVs.

SUMMARY

The purposes and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosurewill be set forth in and become apparent from the description thatfollows. Additional advantages of the disclosed embodiments will berealized and attained by the methods, systems, computer programs andmobile computing devices particularly pointed out in the writtendescription hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.

The present disclosure is directed in some aspects to aprocessor-implemented method to generate a mosaic. An illustrativemethod includes obtaining via a processor a group of images, determiningvia the processor the number of images in the group of images,determining via the processor possible template configurations for thegroup of images based on the number of images, ranking via the processorimages in the group of images with respect to the possible templateconfigurations, calculating via the processor overall rankings for thepossible template configurations identifying via the processor anoptimal template configuration based on the overall rankings, andgenerating via the processor a mosaic from the group of images inaccordance with the optimal template configuration, the templateincluding a plurality of image tiles, each image tile being capable ofbeing associated with an image.

In accordance with further aspects, determining possible templateconfigurations can further include identifying presentation parameters,and determining possible template configurations for the group of imagesbased on the number of images and the identified presentationparameters. The presentation parameters can include informationregarding at least one of (i) device type, (ii) screen resolution, (iii)screen orientation, (iv) screen size and (v) screen form factor of adevice on which the mosaic is viewed. The presentation parameters can beidentified based on the client utilized by a user by querying theclient. The client can be selected from the group including (i) a tabletcomputer, (ii) a smart phone, and (iii) a television, among others, suchas a desktop computer and the like.

The method can further include determining a focal point for an image inthe group of images, and adjusting the image's positioning in the mosaicbased on the focal point. The focal point of the image can be determinedusing facial recognition. The image can include a person, and the focalpoint of the image can be determined via processor to be the person'sface. The focal point of the image can be determined based on thecomposition of the image. The focal point of the image is determined viaprocessor to be a foreground object. Color bands can be analyzed in theimage to find background objects or foreground objects. The image'spositioning in the mosaic can be adjusted via processor by resizing theimage. The image's positioning in the mosaic can be adjusted viaprocessor by performing at least one of (i) centering the image and (ii)cropping the image.

In accordance with a further aspect, the image can be ranked byassigning a numerical value to the image based on its physicalattributes. For example, the numerical value of the ranking of the imagecan be based at least in part on a size score associated with placingthe image in an image tile for each image tile of each possible templateconfiguration. The size score of the image can increase the numericalvalue of the ranking of the image if the image's resolution can behigher than or equal to the resolution of an image tile with which itcan be associated. The numerical value of the ranking of the image canbe based at least in part on a content score, wherein the content scorecan be based on at least one of (i) the number of people visible in theimage and (ii) whether the image shows scenery. The numerical value ofthe ranking of the image can be based at least in part on a orientationscore, wherein the value of the orientation score can be computed bycomparing, via processor, the orientation of the image with theorientation of an image tile. The numerical value of the ranking of theimage can be based at least in part on a color fingerprint of the image,wherein the color fingerprint can be computed by comparing, byprocessor, the image with other images to be placed in the template. Thecolor fingerprint can be based on at least one of (i) hue, (ii)saturation and (iii) brightness.

The method can further include computing an overall ranking of aplurality of templates, including computing, via processor, a score foreach template populated with at least one image, and comparing thescores of the templates. The method can further include selecting thetemplate with the highest score to display the images. The method canfurther include displaying the mosaic on the screen of a user's clientas a continuous film strip. The method can alternatively further includedisplaying the mosaic on the screen of a user's client as a continuousfilm loop. In either instance the method can further include providingnavigation means for a user to use a client's touchscreen to scrollthrough the pictures in the mosaic and/or providing a sharing means topermit a user to share the mosaic with others.

The sharing means can permit the user to share the mosaic with others byactuating an actuator on the touchscreen of the client. The sharingmeans can permit the user to share the mosaic with others via a socialnetworking site, a website, or a mobile application, among others. Themethod can further include providing mosaic modifying means for othersto modify the mosaic. The mosaic modifying means can be adapted andconfigured to permit another user to (i) contribute additional photos tothe mosaic or (ii) post textual or audio comments in association withthe mosaic. The method still further can include providing printinginstruction means for a user to print the mosaic. The printinginstruction means can permit the mosaic to be printed out with textualcomments posted on the mosaic. The printing instruction means can permitthe mosaic to be printed out in photo album format. The printinginstruction means can be actuated in connection with payment of a feevia processor. The method further can include dispersing similar imagesin the mosaic across different areas in the mosaic.

The disclosure further provides a processor-implemented method togenerate a mosaic. The method can include obtaining via a processor agroup of images, determining via the processor the number of images inthe group of images, determining via the processor possible templateconfigurations for the group of images based on the number of images,and generating via the processor a mosaic from the group of images inaccordance with the optimal template configuration, the templateincluding a plurality of image tiles, each image tile being capable ofbeing associated with an image. If desired, the method further caninclude ranking via the processor images in the group of images withrespect to the possible template configurations, calculating via theprocessor overall rankings for the possible template configurations,and/or identifying via the processor an optimal template configurationbased on the overall rankings.

The disclosure further provides a system for generating a mosaic, thatcan include means for obtaining or receiving via a processor a group ofimages, means for determining via the processor the number of images inthe group of images, means for determining via the processor possibletemplate configurations for the group of images based on the number ofimages, means for ranking via the processor images in the group ofimages with respect to the possible template configurations, means forcalculating via the processor overall rankings for the possible templateconfigurations, means for identifying via the processor an optimaltemplate configuration based on the overall rankings, and means forgenerating via the processor a mosaic from the group of images inaccordance with the optimal template configuration, the templateincluding a plurality of image tiles, each image tile being capable ofbeing associated with an image.

In further accordance with the disclosure, the means for determiningpossible template configurations can include means for identifyingpresentation parameters, and means for determining possible templateconfigurations for the group of images based on the number of images andthe identified presentation parameters. The presentation parameters caninclude information regarding at least one of (i) device type, (ii)screen resolution, (iii) screen orientation, (iv) screen size and (v)screen form factor of a device on which the mosaic can be viewed. Thepresentation parameters can be identified based on the client utilizedby a user by querying the client, if desired. The client can be selectedfrom the group including (i) a tablet computer, (ii) a smart phone, and(iii) a television, among others. The system further can include meansfor determining a focal point for an image in the group of images viaprocessor, and means for adjusting the image's positioning in the mosaicbased on the focal point via processor. The focal point of the image canbe determined using facial recognition. The image can include a person,and the focal point of the image can be determined via processor to bethe person's face. The focal point of the image can be determined basedon the composition of the image. The focal point of the image can bedetermined via processor to be a foreground object. Color bands can beanalyzed via processor to find background and/or foreground objects.

The image's positioning in the mosaic can be adjusted via processor byresizing the image. The image's positioning in the mosaic can beadjusted via processor by performing at least one of (i) centering theimage and (ii) cropping the image. The image can be ranked via processorby assigning a numerical value to the image based on its physicalattributes. The numerical value of the ranking of the image can be basedat least in part on a size score associated with placing the image in animage tile for each image tile of each possible template configuration.The size score of the image can increase the numerical value of theranking of the image if the image's resolution can be higher than orequal to the resolution of an image tile with which it can beassociated. The numerical value of the ranking of the image can be basedat least in part on a content score, wherein the content score can bebased on at least one of (i) the number of people visible in the imageand (ii) whether the image shows scenery. The numerical value of theranking of the image can be based at least in part on a orientationscore, wherein the value of the orientation score can be computed bycomparing, via processor, the orientation of the image with theorientation of an image tile. The numerical value of the ranking of theimage can be based at least in part on a color fingerprint of the image,wherein the color fingerprint can be computed by comparing, byprocessor, the image with other images to be placed in the template. Thecolor fingerprint can be based on at least one of (i) hue, (ii)saturation and (iii) brightness.

In accordance with a further aspect, the system further can includemeans for computing an overall ranking of a plurality of templates viaprocessor, including means for computing, via processor, a score foreach template populated with at least one image, and means for comparingthe scores of the templates via processor. The system further caninclude means for selecting the template with the highest score todisplay the images via processor. The system further can include meansfor displaying, via processor, the mosaic on the screen of a user'sclient as a continuous film strip or as a continuous film loop. Ineither instance, the system can further include means for providingnavigation means via processor to a user to permit the user to use aclient's touchscreen to scroll through the pictures in the mosaic and/orfurther can include means for providing a sharing means via processor topermit a user to share the mosaic with others. The sharing means canpermit the user to share the mosaic with others by actuating an actuatoron the touchscreen of the client. For example, the sharing means canpermit the user to share the mosaic with others via a social networkingsite, a website, or a mobile application.

The system can further include providing mosaic modifying means viaprocessor for others to modify the mosaic. The mosaic modifying meanscan be adapted and configured to permit another user to (i) contributeadditional photos to the mosaic or (ii) post textual or audio commentsin association with the mosaic. The system can further include providingmeans for providing printing instruction means for a user to print themosaic. For example, the printing instruction means can permit themosaic to be printed out with textual comments posted on the mosaic. Theprinting instruction means can permit the mosaic to be printed out inphoto album format. The printing instruction means can be actuated inconnection with payment of a fee via processor by a user. The system canfurther include means for dispersing similar images in the mosaic acrossdifferent areas in the mosaic.

The disclosure further provides a system for generating a mosaic, whichcan include means for obtaining via a processor a group of images, meansfor determining via the processor, the number of images in the group ofimages, means for determining via the processor, possible templateconfigurations for the group of images based on the number of images,and means for generating via the processor, a mosaic from the group ofimages in accordance with the optimal template configuration, thetemplate including a plurality of image tiles, each image tile beingcapable of being associated with an image. The system can furtherinclude means for ranking via the processor images in the group ofimages with respect to the possible template configurations, means forcalculating, via the processor, overall rankings for the possibletemplate configurations and means for identifying, via the processor, anoptimal template configuration based on the overall rankings.

The disclosure further provides a processor-readable computer programstored on a tangible non-transient medium for operating a system forgenerating a mosaic of a plurality of provided images. The program caninclude one or more of instructions for obtaining or receiving via aprocessor a group of images, instructions for determining via theprocessor the number of images in the group of images, instructions fordetermining via the processor possible template configurations for thegroup of images based on the number of images, instructions for rankingvia the processor images in the group of images with respect to thepossible template configurations, instructions for calculating via theprocessor overall rankings for the possible template configurations,instructions for identifying via the processor an optimal templateconfiguration based on the overall rankings, and instructions forgenerating via the processor a mosaic from the group of images inaccordance with the optimal template configuration, the templateincluding a plurality of image tiles, each image tile being capable ofbeing associated with an image.

In accordance with further aspects, the instructions for determiningpossible template configurations can include instructions foridentifying presentation parameters, and instructions for determiningpossible template configurations for the group of images based on thenumber of images and the identified presentation parameters. Thepresentation parameters can include information regarding at least oneof (i) device type, (ii) screen resolution, (iii) screen orientation,(iv) screen size and (v) screen form factor of a device on which themosaic can be viewed. The presentation parameters can be identifiedbased on the client utilized by a user by querying the client. Theclient can be selected from the group including (i) a tablet computer,(ii) a smart phone, and (iii) a television.

In some implementations, the computer program can further includeinstructions for determining a focal point for an image in the group ofimages via processor, and instructions for adjusting the image'spositioning in the mosaic based on the focal point via processor. Thefocal point of the image can be determined using facial recognition. Theimage can include a person, and the focal point of the image can bedetermined via processor to be the person's face. The focal point of theimage can be determined based on the composition of the image. The focalpoint of the image can be determined via processor to be a foregroundobject. Color bands can be analyzed via processor to find backgroundand/or foreground objects. The image's positioning in the mosaic can beadjusted via processor by resizing the image. The image's positioning inthe mosaic can be adjusted via processor by performing at least one of(i) centering the image and (ii) cropping the image. The image can beranked via processor by assigning a numerical value to the image basedon its physical attributes. The numerical value of the ranking of theimage can be based at least in part on a size score associated withplacing the image in an image tile for each image tile of each possibletemplate configuration. The size score of the image can increase thenumerical value of the ranking of the image if the image's resolutioncan be higher than or equal to the resolution of an image tile withwhich it can be associated. The numerical value of the ranking of theimage can be based at least in part on a content score, wherein thecontent score can be based on at least one of (i) the number of peoplevisible in the image and (ii) whether the image shows scenery. Thenumerical value of the ranking of the image can be based at least inpart on a orientation score, wherein the value of the orientation scorecan be computed by comparing, via processor, the orientation of theimage with the orientation of an image tile. The numerical value of theranking of the image can be based at least in part on a colorfingerprint of the image, wherein the color fingerprint can be computedby comparing, by processor, the image with other images to be placed inthe template. The color fingerprint can be based on at least one of (i)hue, (ii) saturation and (iii) brightness.

In some implementations, the computer program can include instructionsfor computing an overall ranking of a plurality of templates viaprocessor, including instructions for computing, via processor, a scorefor each template populated with at least one image, and instructionsfor comparing the scores of the templates via processor. The computerprogram further can include instructions for selecting the template withthe highest score to display the images via processor, and instructionsfor displaying, via processor, the mosaic on the screen of a user'sclient as a continuous film strip. In further implementations, thecomputer program further can include instructions for displaying, viaprocessor, the mosaic on the screen of a user's client as a continuousfilm loop. The computer program further can include instructions forproviding a navigation interface via processor to a user to permit theuser to use a client's touchscreen to scroll through the pictures in themosaic. The computer program further can include instructions forproviding a sharing interface via processor to permit a user to sharethe mosaic with others. The sharing interface can permit the user toshare the mosaic with others by actuating an actuator on the touchscreenof the client. The sharing interface can permit the user to share themosaic with others via a social networking site, a website, or a mobileapplication.

The computer program further can include providing a mosaic modifyinginterface via processor for other users to modify the mosaic. The mosaicmodifying interface can be adapted and configured to permit another userto (i) contribute additional photos to the mosaic or (ii) post textualor audio comments in association with the mosaic.

The computer further can include instructions for providing a printinginterface for a user to print the mosaic. The printing interfaceinstructions can permit the mosaic to be printed out with textualcomments posted on the mosaic. The printing interface instructions canpermit the mosaic to be printed out in photo album format. The printinginterface instructions can permit printing to occur upon payment of afee via processor by a user. The computer program can further includeinstructions for dispersing similar images in the mosaic acrossdifferent areas in the mosaic.

The disclosure further provides a processor-readable computer programstored on a tangible non-transient medium for operating a system forgenerating a mosaic of a plurality of provided images. The program caninclude instructions for obtaining via a processor a group of images,instructions for determining via the processor, the number of images inthe group of images, instructions for determining via the processor,possible template configurations for the group of images based on thenumber of images, and instructions for generating via the processor, amosaic from the group of images in accordance with the optimal templateconfiguration, the template including a plurality of image tiles, eachimage tile being capable of being associated with an image. The computerprogram further can include instructions for ranking via the processorimages in the group of images with respect to the possible templateconfigurations, instructions for calculating, via the processor, overallrankings for the possible template configurations, and/or instructionsfor identifying, via the processor, an optimal template configurationbased on the overall rankings.

The disclosure further provides a computing device having one or moreprocessors, memory, a display screen and one or more programs, whereinthe one or more programs can be stored in the memory and configured tobe executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programsincluding instructions for operating a system for generating a mosaic ofa plurality of provided images. The one or more programs can includeinstructions for providing a user input interface for obtaining orreceiving via a processor a group of images, and instructions fordisplaying via the processor on a client device a mosaic from the groupof images in accordance with the optimal template configuration, thetemplate including a plurality of image tiles, each image tile beingcapable of being associated with an image.

In accordance with further aspects, the client device can be selectedfrom the group including (i) a tablet computer, (ii) a smart phone, and(iii) a television. The computing device further can includeinstructions for displaying, via processor, the mosaic on the screen ofthe client device as a continuous film strip or as a continuous filmloop. In either instance, the computing device further can includeinstructions for providing a navigation user interface via processor toa user to permit the user to use a touchscreen of the client to scrollthrough the pictures in the mosaic, and/or instructions for providing asharing user interface via processor to permit a user to share themosaic with others. The sharing user interface can permit the user toshare the mosaic with others by actuating an actuator on the touchscreenof the client. The sharing user interface can permit the user to sharethe mosaic with others via a social networking site, a website, or amobile application.

In accordance with still further aspects, the computing device furthercan include providing a mosaic modifying interface via processor forother users to modify the mosaic. The mosaic modifying interface can beadapted and configured to permit another user to (i) contributeadditional photos to the mosaic or (ii) post textual or audio commentsin association with the mosaic. If desired, the computing device furthercan include instructions for providing a printing interface for a userto print the mosaic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying figures and/or appendices illustrate various exemplaryembodiments in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary mosaichandling (MH) component in one embodiment of the MGP.

FIG. 2 shows a data flow diagram in one embodiment of the MGP.

FIG. 3 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary templateconfiguration determining (TCD) component in one embodiment of the MGP.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary MGP coordinatorin one embodiment of the MGP.

APPENDICES 1-2 illustrate additional exemplary embodiments of the MGP.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION INTRODUCTION

The MGP introduces a new type of digital picture management platformthat facilitates automatic generation of aesthetically balanced imagemosaics. These image mosaics may be automatically generated to beaesthetically balanced, visually interesting, readily printed in aphotobook, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the MGP may convert agroup of photos into a visually stimulating mosaic display of photosusing templates and data regarding the photos. For example, a user maycreate a storyline of an event (e.g., grandpa's 70^(th) birthday) usinga mosaic. The user may upload photos of the event and the MGP maygenerate a mosaic. The user may edit the generated mosaic, share themosaic with others (e.g., give others permission to add more photos tothe mosaic and/or to add comments to photos in the mosaic), print outthe mosaic (e.g., as a photo album, as a mosaic), and/or the like. Invarious embodiments, the MGP may be used to create a storyline, to shareimages via a social networking platform, to generate a screen saver,and/or the like.

Detailed Description of the MGP

FIG. 1 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary mosaichandling (MH) component in one embodiment of the MGP. In FIG. 1, a groupof images may be obtained at 101. In one embodiment, the group of imagesmay be uploaded by a user (e.g., via a MGP mobile application using aportable electronic device, via a website using a computer). In anotherembodiment, the group of images may be retrieved from a data store(e.g., images data store 430 c). For example, a group of previouslyuploaded images may be selected by the user (e.g., by clicking acheckbox associated with an image to select the image). In anotherexample, a previously created mosaic may be edited by selecting thegroup of images that make up the mosaic. In yet another embodiment, thegroup of images may be obtained (e.g., via an API) from another sourceautomatically (e.g., periodically, based on a notification from theother source). For example, if the user takes a photo with a camera, thecamera (e.g., via a MGP mobile application) may be configured to informthe MGP that the photo may be pulled and/or to push the photo to theMGP. In another example, the user may post photos on Facebook, and theMGP may obtain the posted photos daily.

A determination may be made at 105 regarding the number of images in thegroup. In one embodiment, the MGP may track the number of uploadedimages to make this determination. In another embodiment, the MGP mayadjust a counter (e.g., add one when the user selects a picture andsubtract one when the user deselects a picture) to make thisdetermination.

Presentation parameters may be identified at 109. In one embodiment,presentation parameters may include information regarding device type,screen resolution, screen orientation, screen size, screen form factor,and/or the like of a device on which a mosaic may be viewed. In oneimplementation, the presentation parameters may be identified based onthe client utilized by the user (e.g., by querying the client using aMGP mobile application). For example, if the user is using an iPad, thepresentation parameters may be based on the iPad's parameters (e.g., a9.7-inch 2048-by-1536 resolution screen used in landscape orientation).In another example, if the user is using an Android phone (e.g., SamsungGalaxy SII), the presentation parameters may be based on the phone'sparameters (e.g., a 4.3-inch 800-by-480 resolution screen used inportrait orientation). In another implementation, the presentationparameters may be identified based on user specifications. For example,the user may specify (e.g., via GUI widgets of a MGP website) that themosaic should be optimized for viewing via a website on a 16:9 formfactor big screen TV.

Appropriate template configurations for the mosaic may be determined at113. A template configuration may be an arrangement of templates and/ortemplate sets in a configuration (e.g., an ordered set of templatesand/or template sets). A template may be one or more image tilesarranged in a configuration. For example, a template may comprise asingle image tile, two identically sized horizontal image tiles one ontop another, two similarly sized vertical image tiles next to eachother, one large bottom image tile and two smaller top image tiles,and/or the like. See Appendix 1 for additional examples of templates.Also, see the following design patent applications for additionalexamples of templates that may be strung together edge to edge to form ascrolling mosaic of images: David Sonnenberg, et al., application no.29/412,733, filed Feb. 7, 2012; David Sonnenberg, et al., applicationno. 29/412,735, filed Feb. 7, 2012; David Sonnenberg, et al.,application no. 29/412,736, filed Feb. 7, 2012; David Sonnenberg, etal., application no. 29/412,738, filed Feb. 7, 2012; and DavidSonnenberg, et al., application no. 29/412,739, filed Feb. 7, 2012. Theentire contents of the aforementioned applications are herein expresslyincorporated by reference in their entirety. It is to be understoodthat, in various implementations, templates, including the aboveexamples, may be implemented (e.g., arranged) or pushed (e.g., toscroll) vertically and/or horizontally. In various embodiments,templates may be arranged to have various shapes, such as rectangular,square, triangular, circular, and/or the like. For example, templatedata may be stored in the templates data store 430 d. A template set maybe a plurality of templates (e.g., two templates) of different templatetypes (e.g., a wide template followed by a narrow template). SeeAppendix 2 for examples of various wide and narrow templates that may beutilized in a template set (e.g., a template set made up of a widetemplate followed by a narrow template). In one implementation, templateconfigurations using template sets may be restricted to using templateset members in the order specified by the template set (e.g., a widetemplate followed by a narrow template). In another implementation,template configurations using template sets may use template set membersin any desired order (e.g., a wide template followed by a narrowtemplate, or a narrow template followed by a wide template). It is to beunderstood that different types and/or numbers of members may be used ina template set. In one embodiment, the dimensions (e.g., width and/orheight of the rectangle formed by the template set) of the template setmay be specified such that the template set is larger than the screensize of a client device on which the mosaic may be viewed by apredetermined amount. In one implementation, the width (or height) ofthe template set may be between 0% and 5% larger than the width (orheight) of the client's screen. In another implementation, the width (orheight) of the template set may be between 5% and 10% larger than thewidth (or height) of the client's screen. In yet another implementation,the width (or height) of the template set may be between 10% and 15%larger than the width (or height) of the client's screen. Making thewidth (or height) of the template set larger than the client's screenwidth (or height) may give a viewer of a mosaic a motivation to scrollthe mosaic (e.g., from left to right, from top to bottom). For example,if the viewer will view the mosaic on an iPad with a 4:3 screen aspectratio, the template set may form a rectangle whose dimensionssubstantially correspond to dimensions of a Golden Rectangle (i.e.,having a width to height ratio of approximately 1.618 to 1) and whosewidth exceeds the width of the iPad's screen by approximately 7%. Adimension “substantially corresponds” if it corresponds to within aspecified percentage. In one implementation, this percentage may bebetween 0% and 5%. In another implementation, this percentage may bebetween 5% and 10%. In yet another implementation, this percentage maybe between 10% and 15%. In some embodiments, templates and/or templatesets may be designed so that mosaics do not look crowded on a screen(e.g., when templates are strung together, when mosaics are viewed onmobile devices with small screens). For example, each template may bedesigned to have no more than six image tiles. In another example, eachtemplate set may be designed to have between two and seven image tiles.

Appropriate template configurations may be determined by the MGP basedon various factors such as the number of images in the group, datesand/or themes associates with the images, presentation parameters,avoiding repetition of templates and/or template sets, achievingbalanced sizing of images, and/or the like. In one embodiment, thenumber of images in the group may be used for this determination. Forexample, if there are five images in the group, it may be appropriate toutilize a template configuration comprising either one template with twoimage tiles and another template with three image tiles, or a templateconfiguration comprising one template with one image tile and anothertemplate with four image tiles, or a template configuration comprisingone template with one image tile and two templates with two image tiles.In some implementations, the number of images utilized may be affectedby image quality (e.g., the level of blurriness). For example, sharpnessof an image and/or objects within an image (e.g., determined based onface detection) may be used to decide whether an image should be shownin the mosaic. Further, the specific templates chosen for appropriatetemplate configurations may depend on factors such as image sizes (e.g.,big picture, small picture), image orientations (e.g., landscapeorientation, portrait orientation), image content (e.g., people,scenery), and/or the like. In some implementations, appropriate templateconfigurations may be determined such that the resulting mosaic would beprinter friendly (e.g., when the mosaic is printed out, an image is notsplit among multiple pages and/or there are no templates in the mosaicwith empty image tiles), would not have any dangling images, would nothave any templates that are not completely filled, and/or the like. Inanother embodiment, dates and/or themes associates with the images maybe used for this determination. For example, the images may be organized(e.g., sorted and/or grouped) for presentation in a mosaic based on thedate and/or time (e.g., the date and/or time when an image was taken,the date and/or time when an image was uploaded, the date and/or timewhen an image was shared) and/or theme (e.g., theme based on location,theme based on context) associated with the images. Accordingly,appropriate template configurations may be determined such thattemplates and/or template sets in the appropriate templateconfigurations facilitate presentation of the images in conformity withhow the images are organized (e.g., each template and/or template set isdedicated to images from one date and/or theme-based grouping). In yetanother embodiment, presentation parameters may be used for thisdetermination. For example, if the mosaic is intended to be viewed on ascreen with landscape orientation, it may be appropriate to utilizetemplates with two rows of wide image tiles. In another example, if themosaic is intended to be viewed on a screen with portrait orientation,it may be appropriate to utilize templates with three rows of narrowimage tiles. In yet another example, identically sized (e.g., based onwidth and/or height) template sets that may be arranged eitherhorizontally (e.g., from left to right) or vertically (e.g., from top tobottom) may be utilized in template configurations to allow templateset-based scrolling that preserves the template configuration regardlessof screen orientation. In yet another embodiment, avoiding repetition oftemplates and/or template sets may be a goal during this determination.In one implementation, certain templates and/or template sets may bedisqualified from appearing next to and/or close to each other. Forexample, two identical templates and/or template sets may not appearnext to each other to avoid repetition. In another example, twotemplates and/or template sets may not appear close to each other basedon a minimum distance parameter (e.g., the two templates and/or templatesets should have at least one other template and/or template setseparating them—minimum distance of one). In yet another embodiment,achieving a balanced sizing of pictures may be a goal during thisdetermination. For example, templates may be sequenced together to haveone or two leading pictures (e.g., pictures with people), and somesmaller supporting pictures (e.g., scenery pictures). In anotherexample, templates and/or template sets may not appear next to eachother based on a maximum difference in number of image tiles parameter(e.g., two templates may not appear next to each other if the number ofimage tiles in one template differs from the number of image tiles inthe other template by more than three—maximum difference in number ofimage tiles of three). See FIG. 3 for an example of how appropriatetemplate configurations may be determined.

The images in the group may be analyzed to determine an optimal templateconfiguration. At 117, a determination may be made whether there are anyimages to be analyzed. If so, the next image may be selected foranalysis at 121. The image's composition may be ascertained at 125. Inone embodiment, the size of the image may be ascertained. For example, alarge high resolution photo may look good in a small image tile and in alarge image tile, while a small low resolution photo may look good in asmall image tile, but bad in a large image tile. In another embodiment,the content of the image may be ascertained. For example, facialrecognition may be used to determine whether people and/or animals arepresent in a photo. If people and/or animals are present in the photo,it may be more preferable to display the photo in a large image tilethan to display another photo that shows scenery in a large image tile.In yet another embodiment, the orientation of the image may beascertained. For example, a photo having landscape orientation may lookgood in a landscape orientation image tile, but bad in a portraitorientation image tile.

The image may be ranked with respect to possible (i.e., appropriate)template configurations at 129. In one embodiment, the image may beassigned a numerical value associated with placing the image in an imagetile for each image tile of each possible template configuration. In oneimplementation, a photo may be assigned a size score (e.g., 1 if thephoto's resolution is higher than or equal to the resolution of an imagetile and a 0 if it is lower). In another implementation, a photo may beassigned a content score (e.g., 0.8 if the photo includes one person,0.4 if the photo include two or more people and 0.1 if the photo showsscenery for a large image tile, and 0.2 if the photo includes oneperson, 0.6 if the photo include two or more people and 0.9 if the photoshows scenery for a small image tile). In yet another implementation, aphoto may be assigned an orientation score (e.g., 1 if the orientationof a photo matches the orientation of an image tile and a 0 if it doesnot match). In other implementations, factors such as a photo's focalpoint (e.g., proximity of the focal point to the center of an imagetile), a photo's position in an image tile (e.g., an indicator of howaesthetically pleasing the photo would look in the image tile based ondefault positioning), a photo's fingerprint (e.g., how similar thephoto's fingerprint is to fingerprints of other photos in the photo'stemplate and/or in the neighboring templates), and/or the like mayaffect the numerical value associated with placing the image in an imagetile.

In one embodiment, the numerical value associated with placing the imagein an image tile may be equal to the sum of the image's component scores(e.g., the sum of the image's size score, content score and orientationscore). For example, the numerical value associated with placing a highresolution photo of a person having portrait orientation into a largeportrait orientation image tile may be equal to 2.8 (1—size score,0.8—content score, 1—orientation score). In another example, thenumerical value associated with placing a high resolution photo of aperson having portrait orientation into a small landscape orientationimage tile may be equal to 1.2 (1—size score, 0.2—content score,0—orientation score).

Once the images in the group are ranked, an overall ranking may becalculated for each possible template configuration at 133. In oneembodiment, the overall ranking of a template configuration may becalculated by summing image rankings associated with the templateconfiguration. For example, if the group of images comprises two highresolution photos of a person having portrait orientation, then theoverall ranking for a template configuration comprising one templatewith two large portrait orientation image tiles may be 5.6 (2.8 for eachphoto), and the overall ranking for a template configuration comprisingone template with two large landscape orientation image tiles may be 3.6(1.8 for each photo since the orientation score would be 0 instead of1). At 137, the optimal (e.g., highest ranked) template configurationmay be identified and selected as the basis for the mosaic.

The images may be positioned in the mosaic according to the optimaltemplate configuration. At 141, a determination may be made whetherthere are any images to be positioned. If so, the next image may beselected for positioning at 145. The image may be assigned to theappropriate image tile at 149. In one embodiment, the appropriate imagetile may be the image tile associated with the image in the optimaltemplate configuration. At 153, the focal point of the image may bedetermined. In one embodiment, the focal point of the image may bedetermined using facial recognition. For example, in a photo thatincludes a person, the focal point of the photo may be the person'sface. In another embodiment, the focal point of the image may bedetermined based on the composition of the image. For example, in aphoto that includes a beach house, color bands may be analyzed to findbackground objects (e.g., sky, water, sand) and foreground objects(e.g., the beach house), and the focal point of the photo may be aforeground object (e.g., the beach house). The image's positioning inits image tile may be adjusted at 157 to provide an optimal viewingexperience. In one embodiment, the image may be scaled in accordancewith its image tile size. For example, a large photo may be resized tofit into the image tile. In another embodiment, the image may becentered and/or cropped to accentuate the focal point of the image. Forexample, a photo of a beach house may be centered on the beach house andcropped to make the beach house fill half of its image tile.

At 161, the image's color fingerprint may be computed. In oneembodiment, the image's color fingerprint may indicate similarity of theimage to other images. For example, beach photos may be consideredsimilar to each other, but different from park photos. In variousimplementations, factors such as hue, saturation, brightness, and/or thelike may be used to calculate the image's color fingerprint. Forexample, the image's color fingerprint may be a 3-tuple comprising theimage's average hue, average saturation and average brightness. Once theimages in the group are positioned and their color fingerprints arecomputed, similar images may be dispersed at 165 to achieve aestheticbalance and/or avoid concentration of similar images in one area of themosaic. In one embodiment, color fingerprints of the images in the groupmay be used to disperse similar images. For example, if two image tilesin a template have images with similar fingerprints (e.g., each of thethree tuple values for one image differs by less than twenty percentfrom the corresponding tuple value for another image), the image in thesecond image tile may be moved to a different area in the mosaic. In oneimplementation, this may be accomplished by randomly selecting anotherimage tile in a different template (e.g., another identically sizedimage tile) and switching the images in the two image tiles.

A mosaic may be generated at 169. In one embodiment, a mosaic may be agroup of images positioned in image tiles (e.g., in accordance with theoptimal template configuration and/or aesthetic balance). For example,the mosaic may be stored in the mosaics data store 330 e. The mosaic maybe displayed at 173. For example, the mosaic may be displayed on thescreen of the user's client as a continuous film strip and/or a loop,and the user may use the client's touchscreen to scroll through thepictures in the mosaic (e.g., by rolling the mosaic left or right).

A determination may be made at 177 whether the user wishes to share themosaic with others (e.g., the user may click on a “Share” button). Ifthe user wishes to share the mosaic, the MGP may facilitate sharing at181. In various embodiments, the user may share the mosaic via a socialnetworking site, via a MGP website, via a MGP mobile application, and/orthe like to let others view and/or edit the mosaic. For example, othersmay contribute additional photos to the mosaic, post comments (e.g.,textual comments, audio comments) regarding photos in the mosaic, and/orthe like.

A determination may be made at 185 whether the user wishes to print outthe mosaic (e.g., the user may click on a “Print” button). If the userwishes to print out the mosaic, the MGP may facilitate printing at 189.In one embodiment, the mosaic may be printed out in a mosaic format. Forexample, the mosaic may be printed out (e.g., along with postedcomments) such that each printed page comprises an entire template ofthe mosaic. In another embodiment, the mosaic may be printed out in aphoto album format. For example, the mosaic may be printed out (e.g.,depending on paper size chosen by the user, depending on sizes oftemplates in the mosaic, and/or the like) such that each printed pagecomprises one or more templates of the mosaic. In some implementations,there may be a fee associated with printing out the mosaic.

FIG. 2 shows a data flow diagram in one embodiment of the MGP. FIG. 2provides an example of how data may flow to, through, and/or from theMGP platform. In FIG. 2, a user 202 may send a mosaic request input 221to a MGP client 206. In one embodiment, the mosaic request input may bean activation of a “Create Mosaic” button and/or uploading of images bythe user. In another embodiment, the mosaic request input may be aselection of a previously created mosaic by the user and/or activationof an “Edit Mosaic” button.

The MGP client may send a mosaic request 225 to a MGP server 210. Forexample, the mosaic request may include data such as the user's uniqueidentifier, a client's unique identifier, client device type, clientscreen resolution, a mosaic name, mosaic images, and/or the like. In oneimplementation, the mosaic request may be in XML format substantially inthe following form:

<XML>    <MosaicRequest>       <UserID>ID_User</UserID>       <Client>         <ClientID>ID_Client</ClientID>         <ClientType>iPad</ClientType>         <ScreenResolution>2048-by-          1536</ScreenResolution>      </Client>       <Mosaic>          <MosaicName>Grandpa's 70^(th)         birthday </MosaicName>          <Images>list of images for themosaic</Images>       </Mosaic>    </MosaicRequest> <XML>

The MGP server may analyze images data 229 and/or templates data 233 todetermine an optimal template configuration and/or image positioning.For example, analyzed images data may include the number of images,image size, image resolution, image orientation, image composition,image content, image focal point, image colors, and/or the like. Forexample, analyzed templates data may include template shape, templateorientation, number of image tiles in a template, configuration of imagetiles in a template, orientations of image tiles in a template, sizes ofimage tiles in a template, resolution of image tiles in a template,and/or the like.

The MGP server may analyze mosaic data 237 to generate an aestheticallybalanced mosaic. For example, analyzed mosaic data may include mosaicname, mosaic configuration, mosaic images, mosaic images colorfingerprints, mosaic comments, and/or the like.

The MGP server may send a mosaic response 241 to the MGP client. Forexample, the mosaic response may include data such as a link to themosaic generated for the user, mosaic data, and/or the like. The MGPclient may display a mosaic response output 245 to the user. Forexample, the MGP client may use a MGP mobile application to display themosaic to the user on the client's screen.

FIG. 3 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating an exemplary templateconfiguration determining (TCD) component in one embodiment of the MGP.In FIG. 3, a request to determine template configurations may bereceived at 301. For example, this request may be received as a resultof a programmatic command by the MGP.

A determination may be made at 310 whether the images obtained for themosaic should be filtered. For example, the MGP may be configured tofilter out images that do not meet a specified quality standard so thatsuch images do not appear in the mosaic. If so, images to be used in themosaic may be determined at 315. In one embodiment, a quality rating maybe associated with each image, and images whose quality ratings arebelow a specified threshold may be filtered out. For example, qualityratings may be based on the level of blurriness associated with an imageand/or objects within an image (e.g., are faces detected via facialrecognition in focus, are foreground objects in focus). In anotherembodiment, similar images (e.g., based on content and time taken) maybe treated as a group, and the highest quality (e.g., based on qualityratings) image from the group may be chosen for display in the mosaic.For example, similarity of content may be assessed based on colorfingerprints associated with images, and time taken may be determinedbased on exchangeable image file format (EXIF) data associated withimages. It is to be understood that such filtering may affect the numberof images used in the mosaic.

A determination may be made at 320 whether to arrange the images basedon date. For example, the MGP may be configured to arrange images in themosaic based on a chronological order. If so, the images may be arranged(e.g., sorted and/or grouped) based on date and/or time at 325. In oneimplementation, images may be arranged based on the dates and/or times(e.g., determined based on EXIF data) when the images were taken. Inanother implementation, images may be arranged based on the dates and/ortimes when the images were uploaded. In yet another implementation,images may be arranged based on the dates and/or times when the imageswere shared. In one embodiment, template configurations may be organizedsuch that one or more distinct templates and/or template sets are usedfor each group of images. For example, images taken in January may bepositioned in template sets one and two, and images taken in March maybe positioned in template set three. In another embodiment, templateconfigurations may be organized such that templates and/or template setsassociated with each group of images are arranged based on achronological order. For example, template sets one and two may bepositioned in the mosaic to appear before template set three.

A determination may be made at 330 whether to arrange the images basedon theme. For example, the MGP may be configured to arrange images inthe mosaic such that one or more distinct templates and/or template setsare used for each theme grouping. If so, the images may be arrangedbased on theme at 335. In one embodiment, a theme may be based on alocation (e.g., a geographic location determined based on EXIF data).For example, images taken in New York may be positioned in template setone, and images taken in California may be positioned in template setstwo and three. In another embodiment, a theme may be based on context(e.g., an event, an environment). For example, images taken at a weddingmay be positioned in template sets one and two, and images taken atbeaches may be positioned in template sets three and four.

A determination may be made at 340 whether to arrange the images basedon balanced sizing of images. For example, the MGP may be configured toarrange images in the mosaic such that each template and/or template setis configured to have one or two leading pictures (e.g., pictures withpeople), and some smaller supporting pictures (e.g., scenery pictures).If so, the images may be arranged based on balanced sizing of images at345. For example, template configurations may be organized such thateach template set (e.g., a wide template followed by a narrow template)has a leading picture in an image tile of the wide template andsupporting pictures in other image tiles of the wide template and inimage tiles of the narrow template. In another example, templateconfigurations may be organized such that each template set (e.g., anarrow template followed by a wide template) has a leading picture in animage tile of the wide template and in an image tile of the narrowtemplate, and supporting pictures in other image tiles of the widetemplate and of the narrow template.

It is to be understood that arrangement of images may be performed in avariety of orders and/or ways. For example, images may be arranged basedon date and then based on theme. In another example, images may bearranged based on theme and then based on date. Template configurationsmay be determined at 350 based on the way the images are arranged. Inone embodiment, template configurations may be determined such that theresulting configurations result in a mosaic that displays the images inaccordance with the way the images are arranged. In one implementation,to make this determination the MGP may iterate through the availabletemplates and/or template sets and select combinations of templatesand/or template sets that conform to the specified image arrangement.For example, if the images are arranged into groups of five vacationimages (e.g., with one leading picture) taken in June and ten birthdayimages (e.g., with three leading pictures) taken in July, and templatesets are made up of a wide template followed by a narrow template andeach template set is designed to have between two and seven image tiles,template configurations may be determined as follows. One template setmay be used for the five vacation images. This template set may be madeup of templates that result in the number of image tiles for thetemplate set to be five (e.g., a wide template with one image tile and anarrow template with four image tiles, a wide template with two imagetiles and a narrow template with three image tiles, a wide template withthree image tiles and a narrow template with two image tiles, a widetemplate with four image tiles and a narrow template with one imagetile). It is to be understood that multiple templates with the samenumber of image tiles may be available (e.g., a template with threeimage tiles may be template with a big top image tile and two smallerbottom image tiles, or a template with two smaller top image tiles andone big bottom image tile) and that certain templates may not appearnext to each other (e.g., based on a maximum difference in number ofimage tiles parameter). Between two and three template sets may be usedfor the ten birthday images (e.g., four or five template sets may not beused because each template set would not have between one and twoleading images, one or more than five template sets may not be usedbecause each template set would not have between two and seven imagetiles). These template sets may be made up of templates that result inthe number of image tiles for the group of template sets to be ten andmay be positioned after the template set used for the vacation images.Each allowable permutation of templates and/or template sets is atemplate configuration.

A determination may be made at 360 whether to eliminate certain templateconfigurations to avoid template and/or template set repetition. Forexample, the MGP may be configured to eliminate template configurationsthat result in two identical templates appearing next to each other. Ifso, template configurations that result in template and/or template setrepetition may be eliminated at 365. For example, templateconfigurations that result in two identical templates and/or templatesets appearing next to each other may be eliminated. In another example,template configurations that result in two templates and/or templatesets appearing too close to each other (e.g., based on a minimumdistance parameter) may be eliminated.

APPENDICES 1-2 illustrate additional exemplary embodiments of the MGP.

Detailed Description of the MGP Coordinator

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary MGP coordinatorin one embodiment of the MGP. The MGP coordinator facilitates theoperation of the MGP via a computer system (e.g., one or more cloudcomputing systems, grid computing systems, virtualized computer systems,mainframe computers, servers, clients, nodes, desktops, mobile devicessuch as smart phones, cellular phones, tablets, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), and/or the like, embedded computers, dedicatedcomputers, a system on a chip (SOC)). For example, the MGP coordinatormay receive, obtain, aggregate, process, generate, store, retrieve,send, delete, input, output, and/or the like data (including programdata and program instructions); may execute program instructions; maycommunicate with computer systems, with nodes, with users, and/or thelike. In various embodiments, the MGP coordinator may comprise astandalone computer system, a distributed computer system, a node in acomputer network (i.e., a network of computer systems organized in atopology), a network of MGP coordinators, and/or the like. It is to beunderstood that the MGP coordinator and/or the various MGP coordinatorelements (e.g., processor, system bus, memory, input/output devices) maybe organized in any number of ways (i.e., using any number andconfiguration of computer systems, computer networks, nodes, MGPcoordinator elements, and/or the like) to facilitate MGP operation.Furthermore, it is to be understood that the various MGP coordinatorcomputer systems, MGP coordinator computer networks, MGP coordinatornodes, MGP coordinator elements, and/or the like may communicate amongeach other in any number of ways to facilitate MGP operation. As used inthis disclosure, the term “user” refers generally to people and/orcomputer systems that interact with the MGP; the term “server” refersgenerally to a computer system, a program, and/or a combination thereofthat handles requests and/or responds to requests from clients via acomputer network; the term “client” refers generally to a computersystem, a program, a user, and/or a combination thereof that generatesrequests and/or handles responses from servers via a computer network;the term “node” refers generally to a server, to a client, and/or to anintermediary computer system, program, and/or a combination thereof thatfacilitates transmission of and/or handling of requests and/orresponses.

The MGP coordinator includes a processor 401 that executes programinstructions (e.g., MGP program instructions). In various embodiments,the processor may be a general purpose microprocessor (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU)), a dedicated microprocessor (e.g., a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a digital signalprocessor (DSP), a network processor, and/or the like), an externalprocessor, a plurality of processors (e.g., working in parallel,distributed, and/or the like), a microcontroller (e.g., for an embeddedsystem), and/or the like. The processor may be implemented usingintegrated circuits (ICs), application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and/or the like. Invarious implementations, the processor may comprise one or more cores,may include embedded elements (e.g., a coprocessor such as a mathcoprocessor, a cryptographic coprocessor, a physics coprocessor, and/orthe like, registers, cache memory, software), may be synchronous (e.g.,using a clock signal) or asynchronous (e.g., without a central clock),and/or the like. For example, the processor may be an AMD FX processor,an AMD Opteron processor, an AMD Geode LX processor, an Intel Core i7processor, an Intel Xeon processor, an Intel Atom processor, an ARMCortex processor, an IBM PowerPC processor, and/or the like.

The processor may be connected to system memory 405 via a system bus403. The system bus may interconnect these and/or other elements of theMGP coordinator via electrical, electronic, optical, wireless, and/orthe like communication links (e.g., the system bus may be integratedinto a motherboard that interconnects MGP coordinator elements andprovides power from a power supply). In various embodiments, the systembus may comprise one or more control buses, address buses, data buses,memory buses, peripheral buses, and/or the like. In variousimplementations, the system bus may be a parallel bus, a serial bus, adaisy chain design, a hub design, and/or the like. For example, thesystem bus may comprise a front-side bus, a back-side bus, AMD'sHyperTransport, Intel's QuickPath Interconnect, a peripheral componentinterconnect (PCI) bus, an accelerated graphics port (AGP) bus, a PCIExpress bus, a low pin count (LPC) bus, a universal serial bus (USB),and/or the like. The system memory, in various embodiments, may compriseregisters, cache memory (e.g., level one, level two, level three), readonly memory (ROM) (e.g., BIOS, flash memory), random access memory (RAM)(e.g., static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), error-correcting code(ECC) memory), and/or the like. The system memory may be discreet,external, embedded, integrated into a CPU, and/or the like. Theprocessor may access, read from, write to, store in, erase, modify,and/or the like, the system memory in accordance with programinstructions (e.g., MGP program instructions) executed by the processor.The system memory may facilitate accessing, storing, retrieving,modifying, deleting, and/or the like data (e.g., MGP data) by theprocessor.

In various embodiments, input/output devices 410 may be connected to theprocessor and/or to the system memory, and/or to one another via thesystem bus.

In some embodiments, the input/output devices may include one or moregraphics devices 411. The processor may make use of the one or moregraphic devices in accordance with program instructions (e.g., MGPprogram instructions) executed by the processor. In one implementation,a graphics device may be a video card that may obtain (e.g., via aconnected video camera), process (e.g., render a frame), output (e.g.,via a connected monitor, television, and/or the like), and/or the likegraphical (e.g., multimedia, video, image, text) data (e.g., MGP data).A video card may be connected to the system bus via an interface such asPCI, AGP, PCI Express, USB, PC Card, ExpressCard, and/or the like. Avideo card may use one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), forexample, by utilizing AMD's CrossFireX and/or NVIDIA's SLI technologies.A video card may be connected via an interface (e.g., video graphicsarray (VGA), digital video interface (DVI), Mini-DVI, Micro-DVI,high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), DisplayPort, Thunderbolt,composite video, S-Video, component video, and/or the like) to one ormore displays (e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display(LCD), touchscreen, and/or the like) that display graphics. For example,a video card may be an AMD Radeon HD 6990, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD5870, an AMD FirePro V9800P, an AMD Radeon E6760 MXM V3.0 Module, anNVIDIA GeForce GTX 590, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M, an Intel HD Graphics3000, and/or the like. In another implementation, a graphics device maybe a video capture board that may obtain (e.g., via coaxial cable),process (e.g., overlay with other graphical data), capture, convert(e.g., between different formats, such as MPEG2 to H.264), and/or thelike graphical data. A video capture board may be and/or include a TVtuner, may be compatible with a variety of broadcast signals (e.g.,NTSC, PAL, ATSC, QAM) may be a part of a video card, and/or the like.For example, a video capture board may be an ATI All-in-Wonder HD, aHauppauge ImpactVBR 01381, a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250, a HauppaugeColossus 01414, and/or the like. A graphics device may be discreet,external, embedded, integrated into a CPU, and/or the like. A graphicsdevice may operate in combination with other graphics devices (e.g., inparallel) to provide improved capabilities, data throughput, colordepth, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the input/output devices may include one or moreaudio devices 413. The processor may make use of the one or more audiodevices in accordance with program instructions (e.g., MGP programinstructions) executed by the processor. In one implementation, an audiodevice may be a sound card that may obtain (e.g., via a connectedmicrophone), process, output (e.g., via connected speakers), and/or thelike audio data (e.g., MGP data). A sound card may be connected to thesystem bus via an interface such as PCI, PCI Express, USB, PC Card,ExpressCard, and/or the like. A sound card may be connected via aninterface (e.g., tip sleeve (TS), tip ring sleeve (TRS), RCA, TOSLINK,optical) to one or more amplifiers, speakers (e.g., mono, stereo,surround sound), subwoofers, digital musical instruments, and/or thelike. For example, a sound card may be an Intel AC'97 integrated codecchip, an Intel HD Audio integrated codec chip, a Creative Sound BlasterX-Fi Titanium HD, a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! Pro, a CreativeSound Blaster Recon 3D, a Turtle Beach Riviera, a Turtle Beach Amigo II,and/or the like. An audio device may be discreet, external, embedded,integrated into a motherboard, and/or the like. An audio device mayoperate in combination with other audio devices (e.g., in parallel) toprovide improved capabilities, data throughput, audio quality, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, the input/output devices may include one or morenetwork devices 415. The processor may make use of the one or morenetwork devices in accordance with program instructions (e.g., MGPprogram instructions) executed by the processor. In one implementation,a network device may be a network card that may obtain (e.g., via aCategory 5 Ethernet cable), process, output (e.g., via a wirelessantenna), and/or the like network data (e.g., MGP data). A network cardmay be connected to the system bus via an interface such as PCI, PCIExpress, USB, FireWire, PC Card, ExpressCard, and/or the like. A networkcard may be a wired network card (e.g., 10/100/1000, optical fiber), awireless network card (e.g., Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad, Bluetooth, NearField Communication (NFC), TransferJet), a modem (e.g., dialuptelephone-based, asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), cable modem,power line modem, wireless modem based on cellular protocols such ashigh speed packet access (HSPA), evolution-data optimized (EV-DO),global system for mobile communications (GSM), worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMax), long term evolution(LTE), and/or the like, satellite modem, FM radio modem, radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) modem, infrared (IR) modem), and/or the like. Forexample, a network card may be an Intel EXPI9301CT, an Intel EXPI9402PT,a LINKSYS USB300M, a BUFFALO WLI-UC-G450, a Rosewill RNX-MiniN1, aTRENDnet TEW-623PI, a Rosewill RNX-N180UBE, an ASUS USB-BT211, aMOTOROLA SB6120, a U.S. Robotics USR5686G, a Zoom 5697-00-00F, aTRENDnet TPL-401E2K, a D-Link DHP-W306AV, a StarTech ET91000SC, aBroadcom BCM20791, a Broadcom InConcert BCM4330, a Broadcom BCM4360, anLG VL600, a Qualcomm MDM9600, a Toshiba TC35420 TransferJet device,and/or the like. A network device may be discreet, external, embedded,integrated into a motherboard, and/or the like. A network device mayoperate in combination with other network devices (e.g., in parallel) toprovide improved data throughput, redundancy, and/or the like. Forexample, protocols such as link aggregation control protocol (LACP)based on IEEE 802.3AD-2000 or IEEE 802.1AX-2008 standards may be used. Anetwork device may be used to connect to a local area network (LAN), awide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a personalarea network, the Internet, an intranet, a Bluetooth network, an NFCnetwork, a Wi-Fi network, a cellular network, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the input/output devices may include one or moreperipheral devices 417. The processor may make use of the one or moreperipheral devices in accordance with program instructions (e.g., MGPprogram instructions) executed by the processor. In variousimplementations, a peripheral device may be a digital camera, a videocamera, a webcam, an electronically moveable pan tilt zoom (PTZ) camera,a monitor, a touchscreen display, active shutter 3D glasses,head-tracking 3D glasses, a remote control, an audio line-in, an audioline-out, a microphone, headphones, speakers, a subwoofer, a router, ahub, a switch, a firewall, an antenna, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackpad,a trackball, a digitizing tablet, a stylus, a joystick, a gamepad, agame controller, a force-feedback device, a laser, sensors (e.g.,proximity sensor, rangefinder, ambient temperature sensor, ambient lightsensor, humidity sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a motion sensor,an olfaction sensor, a biosensor, a chemical sensor, a magnetometer, aradar, a sonar, a location sensor such as global positioning system(GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, and/or the like), a printer, a fax, a scanner,a copier, a card reader, and/or the like. A peripheral device may beconnected to the system bus via an interface such as PCI, PCI Express,USB, FireWire, VGA, DVI, Mini-DVI, Micro-DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort,Thunderbolt, composite video, S-Video, component video, PC Card,ExpressCard, serial port, parallel port, PS/2, TS, TRS, RCA, TOSLINK,network connection (e.g., wired such as Ethernet, optical fiber, and/orthe like, wireless such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular, and/or thelike), a connector of another input/output device, and/or the like. Aperipheral device may be discreet, external, embedded, integrated (e.g.,into a processor, into a motherboard), and/or the like. A peripheraldevice may operate in combination with other peripheral devices (e.g.,in parallel) to provide the MGP coordinator with a variety of input,output and processing capabilities.

In some embodiments, the input/output devices may include one or morestorage devices 419. The processor may access, read from, write to,store in, erase, modify, and/or the like a storage device in accordancewith program instructions (e.g., MGP program instructions) executed bythe processor. A storage device may facilitate accessing, storing,retrieving, modifying, deleting, and/or the like data (e.g., MGP data)by the processor. In one implementation, the processor may access datafrom the storage device directly via the system bus. In anotherimplementation, the processor may access data from the storage device byinstructing the storage device to transfer the data to the system memoryand accessing the data from the system memory. In various embodiments, astorage device may be a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid-state drive(SSD), a floppy drive using diskettes, an optical disk drive (e.g.,compact disk (CD-ROM) drive, CD-Recordable (CD-R) drive, CD-Rewriteable(CD-RW) drive, digital versatile disc (DVD-ROM) drive, DVD-R drive,DVD-RW drive, Blu-ray disk (BD) drive) using an optical medium, amagnetic tape drive using a magnetic tape, a memory card (e.g., a USBflash drive, a compact flash (CF) card, a secure digital extendedcapacity (SDXC) card), a network attached storage (NAS), adirect-attached storage (DAS), a storage area network (SAN), otherprocessor-readable physical mediums, and/or the like. A storage devicemay be connected to the system bus via an interface such as PCI, PCIExpress, USB, FireWire, PC Card, ExpressCard, integrated driveelectronics (IDE), serial advanced technology attachment (SATA),external SATA (eSATA), small computer system interface (SCSI), serialattached SCSI (SAS), fibre channel (FC), network connection (e.g., wiredsuch as Ethernet, optical fiber, and/or the like; wireless such asWi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular, and/or the like), and/or the like. Astorage device may be discreet, external, embedded, integrated (e.g.,into a motherboard, into another storage device), and/or the like. Astorage device may operate in combination with other storage devices toprovide improved capacity, data throughput, data redundancy, and/or thelike. For example, protocols such as redundant array of independentdisks (RAID) (e.g., RAID 0 (striping), RAID 1 (mirroring), RAID 5(striping with distributed parity), hybrid RAID), just a bunch of drives(JBOD), and/or the like may be used. In another example, virtual and/orphysical drives may be pooled to create a storage pool. In yet anotherexample, an SSD cache may be used with a HDD to improve speed.

Together and/or separately the system memory 405 and the one or morestorage devices 419 may be referred to as memory 420 (i.e., physicalmemory).

MGP memory 420 contains processor-operable (e.g., accessible) MGP datastores 430. Data stores 430 comprise data that may be used (e.g., by theMGP) via the MGP coordinator. Such data may be organized using one ormore data formats such as a database (e.g., a relational database withdatabase tables, an object-oriented database, a graph database, ahierarchical database), a flat file (e.g., organized into a tabularformat), a binary file (e.g., a GIF file, an MPEG-4 file), a structuredfile (e.g., an HTML file, an XML file), a text file, and/or the like.Furthermore, data may be organized using one or more data structuressuch as an array, a queue, a stack, a set, a linked list, a map, a tree,a hash, a record, an object, a directed graph, and/or the like. Invarious embodiments, data stores may be organized in any number of ways(i.e., using any number and configuration of data formats, datastructures, MGP coordinator elements, and/or the like) to facilitate MGPoperation. For example, MGP data stores may comprise data stores 430 a-eimplemented as one or more databases. A users data store 430 a may be acollection of database tables that include fields such as UserID,UserName, UserPreferences, UserImages, UserMosaics, and/or the like. Aclients data store 430 b may be a collection of database tables thatinclude fields such as ClientID, ClientName, ClientDeviceType,ClientScreenResolution, and/or the like. An images data store 430 c maybe a collection of database tables that include fields such as ImageID,ImageName, ImageTopic, ImageComments, ImageResolution, ImageOrientation,and/or the like. A templates data store 430 d may be a collection ofdatabase tables that include fields such as TemplateID, TemplateName,TemplateTiles, and/or the like. A mosaics data store 430 e may be acollection of database tables that include fields such as MosaicID,MosaicName, MosaicComments, MosaicSharingSettings, and/or the like. TheMGP coordinator may use data stores 430 to keep track of inputs,parameters, settings, variables, records, outputs, and/or the like.

MGP memory 420 contains processor-operable (e.g., executable) MGPcomponents 440. Components 440 comprise program components (includingprogram instructions and any associated data stores) that are executed(e.g., by the MGP) via the MGP coordinator (i.e., via the processor) totransform MGP inputs into MGP outputs. It is to be understood that thevarious components and their subcomponents, capabilities, applications,and/or the like may be organized in any number of ways (i.e., using anynumber and configuration of components, subcomponents, capabilities,applications, MGP coordinator elements, and/or the like) to facilitateMGP operation. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the variouscomponents and their subcomponents, capabilities, applications, and/orthe like may communicate among each other in any number of ways tofacilitate MGP operation. For example, the various components and theirsubcomponents, capabilities, applications, and/or the like may becombined, integrated, consolidated, split up, distributed, and/or thelike in any number of ways to facilitate MGP operation. In anotherexample, a single or multiple instances of the various components andtheir subcomponents, capabilities, applications, and/or the like may beinstantiated on each of a single MGP coordinator node, across multipleMGP coordinator nodes, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, program components may be developed using one ormore programming languages, techniques, tools, and/or the like such asan assembly language, Ada, BASIC, C, C++, C#, COBOL, Fortran, Java,LabVIEW, Lisp, Mathematica, MATLAB, OCaml, PL/I, Smalltalk, Visual Basicfor Applications (VBA), HTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, JavaScript ObjectNotation (JSON), PHP, Perl, Ruby, Python, Asynchronous JavaScript andXML (AJAX), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), SSL, ColdFusion,Microsoft.NET, Apache modules, Adobe Flash, Adobe AIR, MicrosoftSilverlight, Windows PowerShell, batch files, Tcl, graphical userinterface (GUI) toolkits, SQL, database adapters, web applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs), application server extensions, integrateddevelopment environments (IDEs), libraries (e.g., object libraries,class libraries, remote libraries), remote procedure calls (RPCs),Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), and/or the like.

In some embodiments, components 440 may include an operating environmentcomponent 440 a. The operating environment component may facilitateoperation of the MGP via various subcomponents.

In some implementations, the operating environment component may includean operating system subcomponent. The operating system subcomponent mayprovide an abstraction layer that facilitates the use of, communicationamong, common services for, interaction with, security of, and/or thelike of various MGP coordinator elements, components, data stores,and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the operating system subcomponent may facilitateexecution of program instructions (e.g., MGP program instructions) bythe processor by providing process management capabilities. For example,the operating system subcomponent may facilitate the use of multipleprocessors, the execution of multiple processes, multitasking, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, the operating system subcomponent may facilitatethe use of memory by the MGP. For example, the operating systemsubcomponent may allocate and/or free memory, facilitate memoryaddressing, provide memory segmentation and/or protection, providevirtual memory capability, facilitate caching, and/or the like. Inanother example, the operating system subcomponent may include a filesystem (e.g., File Allocation Table (FAT), New Technology File System(NTFS), Hierarchical File System Plus (HFS+), Universal Disk Format(UDF), Linear Tape File System (LTFS)) to facilitate storage, retrieval,deletion, aggregation, processing, generation, and/or the like of data.

In some embodiments, the operating system subcomponent may facilitateoperation of and/or processing of data for and/or from input/outputdevices. For example, the operating system subcomponent may include oneor more device drivers, interrupt handlers, file systems, and/or thelike that allow interaction with input/output devices.

In some embodiments, the operating system subcomponent may facilitateoperation of the MGP coordinator as a node in a computer network byproviding support for one or more communications protocols. For example,the operating system subcomponent may include support for the internetprotocol suite (i.e., Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)) of network protocols such as TCP, IP, User Datagram Protocol(UDP), Mobile IP, and/or the like. In another example, the operatingsystem subcomponent may include support for security protocols (e.g.,Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), WPA2) forwireless computer networks. In yet another example, the operating systemsubcomponent may include support for virtual private networks (VPNs).

In some embodiments, the operating system subcomponent may facilitatesecurity of the MGP coordinator. For example, the operating systemsubcomponent may provide services such as authentication, authorization,audit, network intrusion-detection capabilities, firewall capabilities,antivirus capabilities, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the operating system subcomponent may facilitateuser interaction with the MGP by providing user interface elements thatmay be used by the MGP to generate a user interface. In oneimplementation, such user interface elements may include widgets (e.g.,windows, dialog boxes, scrollbars, menu bars, tabs, ribbons, menus,buttons, text boxes, checkboxes, combo boxes, drop-down lists, listboxes, radio buttons, sliders, spinners, grids, labels, progressindicators, icons, tooltips, and/or the like) that may be used to obtaininput from and/or provide output to the user. For example, such widgetsmay be used via a widget toolkit such as Microsoft Foundation Classes(MFC), Apple Cocoa Touch, Java Swing, GTK+, Qt, Yahoo! User InterfaceLibrary (YUI), and/or the like. In another implementation, such userinterface elements may include sounds (e.g., event notification soundsstored in MP3 file format), animations, vibrations, and/or the like thatmay be used to inform the user regarding occurrence of various events.For example, the operating system subcomponent may include a userinterface such as Windows Aero, Mac OS X Aqua, GNOME Shell, KDE PlasmaWorkspaces (e.g., PlasmaDesktop, Plasma Netbook, Plasma Contour, PlasmaMobile), and/or the like.

In various embodiments the operating system subcomponent may comprise asingle-user operating system, a multi-user operating system, asingle-tasking operating system, a multitasking operating system, asingle-processor operating system, a multiprocessor operating system, adistributed operating system, an embedded operating system, a real-timeoperating system, and/or the like. For example, the operating systemsubcomponent may comprise an operating system such as UNIX, LINUX, IBMi, Sun Solaris, Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft DOS, MicrosoftWindows 7, Microsoft Windows 8, Apple Mac OS X, Apple iOS, Android,Symbian, Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, Blackberry QNX, and/or thelike.

In some implementations, the operating environment component may includea database subcomponent. The database subcomponent may facilitate MGPcapabilities such as storage, analysis, retrieval, access, modification,deletion, aggregation, generation, and/or the like of data (e.g., theuse of data stores 430). The database subcomponent may make use ofdatabase languages (e.g., Structured Query Language (SQL), XQuery),stored procedures, triggers, APIs, and/or the like to provide thesecapabilities. In various embodiments the database subcomponent maycomprise a cloud database, a data warehouse, a distributed database, anembedded database, a parallel database, a real-time database, and/or thelike. For example, the database subcomponent may comprise a databasesuch as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, MySQL, IBM DB2, OracleDatabase, and/or the like.

In some implementations, the operating environment component may includean information handling subcomponent. The information handlingsubcomponent may provide the MGP with capabilities to serve, deliver,upload, obtain, present, download, and/or the like a variety ofinformation. The information handling subcomponent may use protocolssuch as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Transfer ProtocolSecure (HTTPS), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Telnet, Secure Shell(SSH), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL),peer-to-peer (P2P) protocols (e.g., BitTorrent), and/or the like tohandle communication of information such as web pages, files, multimediacontent (e.g., streaming media), applications, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the information handling subcomponent mayfacilitate the serving of information to users, MGP components, nodes ina computer network, web browsers, and/or the like. For example, theinformation handling subcomponent may comprise a web server such asApache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS),Oracle WebLogic Server, Adobe Flash Media Server, Adobe Content Server,and/or the like. Furthermore, a web server may include extensions,plug-ins, add-ons, servlets, and/or the like. For example, these mayinclude Apache modules, IIS extensions, Java servlets, and/or the like.In some implementations, the information handling subcomponent maycommunicate with the database subcomponent via standards such as OpenDatabase Connectivity (ODBC), Java Database Connectivity (JDBC), ActiveXData Objects for .NET (ADO.NET), and/or the like. For example, theinformation handling subcomponent may use such standards to store,analyze, retrieve, access, modify, delete, aggregate, generate, and/orthe like data (e.g., data from data stores 430) via the databasesubcomponent.

In some embodiments, the information handling subcomponent mayfacilitate presentation of information obtained from users, MGPcomponents, nodes in a computer network, web servers, and/or the like.For example, the information handling subcomponent may comprise a webbrowser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, AppleSafari, Google Chrome, Opera Mobile, Amazon Silk, Nintendo 3DS InternetBrowser, and/or the like. Furthermore, a web browser may includeextensions, plug-ins, add-ons, applets, and/or the like. For example,these may include Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Acrobat plug-in, MicrosoftSilverlight plug-in, Microsoft Office plug-in, Java plug-in, and/or thelike.

In some implementations, the operating environment component may includea messaging subcomponent. The messaging subcomponent may facilitate MGPmessage communications capabilities. The messaging subcomponent may useprotocols such as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Internet MessageAccess Protocol (IMAP), Post Office Protocol (POP), Extensible Messagingand Presence Protocol (XMPP), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP),Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Skype protocol, AOL's Open System forCommunication in Realtime (OSCAR), Messaging Application ProgrammingInterface (MAPI), Facebook API, and/or the like to facilitate MGPmessage communications. The messaging subcomponent may facilitatemessage communications such as email, instant messaging, Voice over IP(VoIP), video conferencing, Short Message Service (SMS), web chat,and/or the like. For example, the messaging subcomponent may compriseMicrosoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook, Sendmail, IBM LotusDomino, Gmail, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo Messenger, ICQ,Trillian, Skype, Google Talk, Apple FaceTime, Apple iChat, FacebookChat, and/or the like.

In some implementations, the operating environment component may includea security subcomponent that facilitates MGP security. In someembodiments, the security subcomponent may restrict access to the MGP,to one or more services provided by the MGP, to data associated with theMGP (e.g., stored in data stores 430), to communication messagesassociated with the MGP, and/or the like to authorized users. Access maybe granted via a login screen, via an API that obtains authenticationinformation, via an authentication token, and/or the like. For example,the user may obtain access by providing a username and/or a password(e.g., a string of characters, a picture password), a personalidentification number (PIN), an identification card, a magnetic stripecard, a smart card, a biometric identifier (e.g., a finger print, avoice print, a retina scan, a face scan), a gesture (e.g., a swipe), amedia access control (MAC) address, an IP address, and/or the like.Various security models such as access-control lists (ACLs),capability-based security, hierarchical protection domains, and/or thelike may be used to control access. For example, the securitysubcomponent may facilitate digital rights management (DRM), networkintrusion detection, firewall capabilities, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the security subcomponent may use cryptographictechniques to secure information (e.g., by storing encrypted data),verify message authentication (e.g., via a digital signature), provideintegrity checking (e.g., a checksum), and/or the like by facilitatingencryption and/or decryption of data. Furthermore, steganographictechniques may be used instead of or in combination with cryptographictechniques. Cryptographic techniques used by the MGP may includesymmetric key cryptography using shared keys (e.g., using one or moreblock ciphers such as triple Data Encryption Standard (DES), AdvancedEncryption Standard (AES); stream ciphers such as Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4),Rabbit), asymmetric key cryptography using a public key/private key pair(e.g., using algorithms such as Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), DigitalSignature Algorithm (DSA)), cryptographic hash functions (e.g., usingalgorithms such as Message-Digest 5 (MD5), Secure Hash Algorithm 2(SHA-2)), and/or the like. For example, the security subcomponent maycomprise a cryptographic system such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP).

In some implementations, the operating environment component may includea virtualization subcomponent that facilitates MGP virtualizationcapabilities. In some embodiments, the virtualization subcomponent mayprovide support for platform virtualization (e.g., via a virtualmachine). Platform virtualization types may include full virtualization,partial virtualization, paravirtualization, and/or the like. In someimplementations, platform virtualization may be hardware-assisted (e.g.,via support from the processor using technologies such as AMD-V, IntelVT-x, and/or the like). In some embodiments, the virtualizationsubcomponent may provide support for various other virtualizedenvironments such as via operating-system level virtualization, desktopvirtualization, workspace virtualization, mobile virtualization,application virtualization, database virtualization, and/or the like. Insome embodiments, the virtualization subcomponent may provide supportfor various virtualized resources such as via memory virtualization,storage virtualization, data virtualization, network virtualization,and/or the like. For example, the virtualization subcomponent maycomprise VMware software suite (e.g., VMware Server, VMware Workstation,VMware Player, VMware ESX, VMware ESXi, VMware ThinApp, VMwareInfrastructure), Parallels software suite (e.g., Parallels Server,Parallels Workstation, Parallels Desktop, Parallels Mobile, ParallelsVirtuozzo Containers), Oracle software suite (e.g., Oracle VM Server forSPARC, Oracle VM Server for x86, Oracle VM VirtualBox, Oracle Solaris10, Oracle Solaris 11), Informatica Data Services, Wine, and/or thelike.

In some embodiments, components 440 may include a user interfacecomponent 440 b. The user interface component may facilitate userinteraction with the MGP by providing a user interface. In variousimplementations, the user interface component may include programmaticinstructions to obtain input from and/or provide output to the user viaphysical controls (e.g., physical buttons, switches, knobs, wheels,dials), textual user interface, audio user interface, GUI, voicerecognition, gesture recognition, touch and/or multi-touch userinterface, messages, APIs, and/or the like. In some implementations, theuser interface component may make use of the user interface elementsprovided by the operating system subcomponent of the operatingenvironment component. For example, the user interface component maymake use of the operating system subcomponent's user interface elementsvia a widget toolkit. In some implementations, the user interfacecomponent may make use of information presentation capabilities providedby the information handling subcomponent of the operating environmentcomponent. For example, the user interface component may make use of aweb browser to provide a user interface via HTML5, Adobe Flash,Microsoft Silverlight, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, components 440 may include any of the components MH440 c, TCD 440 d described in more detail in preceding figures.

The Embodiments of the MGP

The entirety of this disclosure (including the written description,figures, claims, abstract, appendices, and/or the like) for MOSAICGENERATING PLATFORM METHODS, APPARATUSES AND MEDIA shows variousembodiments via which the claimed innovations may be practiced. It is tobe understood that these embodiments and the features they describe area representative sample presented to assist in understanding the claimedinnovations, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. As such, thevarious embodiments, implementations, examples, and/or the like aredeemed non-limiting throughout this disclosure. Furthermore, alternateundescribed embodiments may be available (e.g., equivalent embodiments).Such alternate embodiments have not been discussed in detail to preservespace and/or reduce repetition. That alternate embodiments have not beendiscussed in detail is not to be considered a disclaimer of suchalternate undescribed embodiments, and no inference should be drawnregarding such alternate undescribed embodiments relative to thosediscussed in detail in this disclosure. It is to be understood that suchalternate undescribed embodiments may be utilized without departing fromthe spirit and/or scope of the disclosure. For example, theorganizational, logical, physical, functional, topological, and/or thelike structures of various embodiments may differ. In another example,the organizational, logical, physical, functional, topological, and/orthe like structures of the MGP coordinator, MGP coordinator elements,MGP data stores, MGP components and their subcomponents, capabilities,applications, and/or the like described in various embodimentsthroughout this disclosure are not limited to a fixed operating orderand/or arrangement, instead, all equivalent operating orders and/orarrangements are contemplated by this disclosure. In yet anotherexample, the MGP coordinator, MGP coordinator elements, MGP data stores,MGP components and their subcomponents, capabilities, applications,and/or the like described in various embodiments throughout thisdisclosure are not limited to serial execution, instead, any numberand/or configuration of threads, processes, instances, services,servers, clients, nodes, and/or the like that execute in parallel,concurrently, simultaneously, synchronously, asynchronously, and/or thelike is contemplated by this disclosure. Furthermore, it is to beunderstood that some of the features described in this disclosure may bemutually contradictory, incompatible, inapplicable, and/or the like, andare not present simultaneously in the same embodiment. Accordingly, thevarious embodiments, implementations, examples, and/or the like are notto be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claimsor limitations on equivalents to the claims.

This disclosure includes innovations not currently claimed. Applicantreserves all rights in such currently unclaimed innovations includingthe rights to claim such innovations and to file additional provisionalapplications, non-provisional applications, continuation applications,continuation-in-part applications, divisional applications, and/or thelike. It is to be understood that while some embodiments of the MGPdiscussed in this disclosure have been directed to generating photomosaics, the innovations described in this disclosure may be readilyapplied to a wide variety of other fields and/or applications.

The following is claimed:
 1. A method for generating and displaying ascrolling mosaic of a group of images on a display screen of a computingdevice having a processor, comprising: displaying a user input interfaceon the display screen of the computing device to facilitate obtaining orreceiving via the processor the group of images; and processing thegroup of images in order to assemble the scrolling mosaic from aplurality of image templates, each image template including a pluralityof image tiles, each image template having a height and width, wherein aplurality of the image templates have image tiles of differingdimensions, and wherein the mosaic is assembled by: (a) virtuallyassembling the plurality of image templates into a group of imagetemplates having a size that is greater than a size of the displayscreen of the computing device; (b) populating the plurality of imagetiles within the group of image templates with images from the group ofimages; and (c) displaying the mosaic on the display screen of thecomputing device.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providinga navigation user interface on the display screen of the computingdevice via the processor to permit a user of the computing device toscroll through the pictures in the mosaic by the user swiping a fingeracross the display screen of the computing device, wherein the displayscreen of the computing device is a touch screen.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising displaying, via processor, the mosaic on thedisplay screen of the computing device as a continuous film strip or asa continuous film loop.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingproviding a sharing user interface via processor to permit a user toshare the mosaic with others, wherein the sharing user interface permitsthe user to share the mosaic with others by actuating an actuator on thedisplay screen of the computing device.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising ranking via the processor images in the group ofimages with respect to possible template configurations, wherein atemplate configuration is defined as a linear ordering of successivetemplates for assembling the mosaic.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising calculating, via the processor, overall rankings for thepossible template configurations.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising identifying, via the processor, an optimal templateconfiguration based on the overall rankings.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising associating dates with each image in the group ofimages, and placing the images in the assembled mosaic in date order. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the dates include the date on which thephotograph was taken.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the datesinclude the date on which the photograph was shared electronically. 11.The method of claim 7, further comprising associating a geographiclocation with each image in the group of images, grouping imagestogether that were taken in similar geographic locations and placing theimages in the assembled mosaic based on geographic grouping.
 12. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising determining a focal point for animage in the group of images via the processor, and adjusting theimage's positioning in the mosaic based on the focal point via theprocessor.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the focal point of theimage is determined using facial recognition, the image includes aperson, and the focal point of the image is determined via the processorto be the person's face.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the focalpoint of the image is further determined based on the composition of theimage by analyzing color bands.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thecolor bands are analyzed via the processor to find background orforeground objects.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the image'spositioning in the mosaic is adjusted via the processor by (i) centeringthe image, (ii) cropping the image, and (iii) resizing the image. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein an image in the group of images isranked via the processor by assigning a numerical value to the imagebased on its physical attributes based on a size score associated withplacing the image in an image tile for each image tile in each templatein the stack of templates, wherein the size score of the image increasesthe numerical value of the ranking of the image if the image'sresolution is higher than or equal to the resolution of an image tilewith which it can be associated.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein animage in the group of images is ranked via the processor by assigning anumerical value to the image based at least in part on a content score,wherein the content score is based on at least one of (i) the number ofpeople visible in theimage and (ii) whether the image shows scenery. 19.The method of claim 1, wherein an image in the group of images is rankedvia the processor by assigning a numerical value to the image based atleast in part on a orientation score, wherein the value of theorientation score is computed by comparing, via the processor, theorientation of the image with the orientation of an imagetile.
 20. Themethod of claim 1, wherein an image in the group of images is ranked viathe processor by assigning a numerical value to the image based at leastin part on a color fingerprint of the image, wherein the colorfingerprint is computed by comparing, by the processor, the image withother images to be placed in the mosaic, and further wherein the colorfingerprint is based on at least one of (i) hue, (ii) saturation and(iii)brightness.